Toy sling



(No Model.) 7.

L. B. MYERS.

TOY SLING. No. 363,755. Patented May 24, 1887.

L WWW a} WW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEXVIS B. MYERS, OF FREMONT, OHIO.

TOY SLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,755, dated May 24-,1887.

Application filed April 13, 1886. Serial No. 198,725.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEwIs B. MYERs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fremont, in the county of Sandusky and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Slings; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to catapults or slings of that class in whichrubber bands of suitable size and strength are attached at one end tothe arms or prongs of a crotch of any suitable substance, generallymetal, and at the other end to a piece of leather, which forms aholderfor the missile designed to be thrown; Here tofore slings of thiskind have been defective in the attachment of the rubbers to the partsto which they are applicable, inasmuch as they have been liable tobecome worn or be out there.

The object of the present invention is to pro duce a slingin which therubbers are connected to the adjacent parts in such manner as to be heldfirmly in place, and at the same time be free from breaking or cuttingat the fastening.

With these objects in View the invention consists in a sling having therubbers attached to the crotch portion by. slitting the arms or prongsthereof, or providing them with openings, the slits or openings beingless in width than the thickness of the rubber band in the normal state,from which state it is changed and rendered thinner at its end bystretching to be introduced, and to which state it tends,

at the part rendered thinner, again to return when relaxed, and sobulges out upon each side of the prong sufficiently to be held firmly inplace, the ends of the rubber band in addition being thickened either byfolding the material upon itself or by cementing separate pieces to it,or otherwise, for additional strength at the points of j uncture at theprong and at the missile-holder.

Furthermore, the invention consists in a sling in which the thickenedends of the rubber are attached to the missile-holder by staples, whichbind the rubber and the material of which the holder is composedtogether; and, finally, the invention consists in a sling-crotch ofmetal or other suitable substance having its (No model.)

arms provided with slits, the inner faces of which are apexiform.

The invention is illustrated in the accom panying drawings, in whichlike letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, and in whichFigure 1 is a perspective view of a complete slingf embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a detail view showing one arm of the crotch andillustrating the manner of securing the rubber band in place. Fig. 3 isa detail view showing the manner of securing a rubber band to themissile-holder. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views showing modifications ofthe means for securing the rubber to the prongs.

In the drawings, A represents the crotch, preferably of metal, andeither cast or made up of wire bent into proper shape When the crotch iscast, slits or openings are formed in the upper ends of the prongs, andinto these are introduced the ends of the rubbers B. It is intended thatthe slits shall be so narrow that after the ends of the rubbers havebeen introduced into them by stretching them at the ends to make themthin enough there to be inserted, they shall be tightly held by frictionand by the projection of the ends, where they are not compressed in theslits or 0penings, laterally beyond the faces of these slits oropenings; but should the slits or openings be too wide, they may bepartially closed by pressure, by bending, or by bringing the front edgesof the slits nearer together than the rear edges.

Instead of having a plain slit for the retention of the rubbers, one maybe formed, as shown in Fig. 4, in which the inner faces of the fingersa, formed upon the ends of the prongs by the slits, are provided withapexiform inner faces, a, the apeXes of the faces being such a distanceapart as to permit the introduction of the ends of the rubber bands whenstretched, and at the same time to retain the bands by frictionalcontact, preventing the ends from slipping through, when the stretchingis discontinued and the bands are allowed at all parts to resume theirthickness. This ,forms a very simple and reliable attachment for rubberbands, and is preferable in some instances to the plain slit, for thereason that no bending or other manipulation of the metal which mightresult in weakening thereof is ever requisite.

Instead of forming the prongs and fingers of the crotch of cast metal,these portions maybe of wire. In this form the crotch of wire has itsends bent in such manner as to form openings of suitable size to admitthe ends of the rubber when stretched, and at the same time to confinethem suitably when the rubber has resumed its normal state, all as shownin Fig.5.

The manner of attaching the rubber bands B to the missile-holder O isshown in Fig. 3. The attachment is made by staples D, the loops of whichinclosethe thickened ends of the rubber bands, the staple projectingthrough the inner face of the missile-holder and being bent down there.The ends of the staples are bent inward, as shown to the left of thefigure, so that they may not be liable to be bent away from the innerface of theholder in the use of the same. It is particularly to beobserved that the rubber bands do not surround the missle-holder, butare attached to each side thereof.

In many instances it is of great advantage to thicken the ends of thebands in any suitable Way, as by bending the material upon itself byhaving the ends of greater transverse diameter than the other parts, orby attaching an additional piece or additional pieces by cement orotherwise. The ends, when thus thickened, will successfully withstandwear, and will last much longer than when made of the ordinary thicknesswhen the rubber is thin.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, 1s

1. In a toy sling, the crotch A,having prongs at the ends slitted andforming the fingers a, combined with rubber having thickened endsintroduced into the slits in a stretched condition, and thus heldwithout other fastening, substantially as described.

2. In a toy sling, a crotch having prongs slitted or with openingsholding and retaining by friction the ends of rubber bands, incombination with a missiie holder fastened separately to each of twobands having thickened ends by a staple over the band within thethickened end, and clinched on the inner face of the missile-holder withthe legs of the staple bent inward, substantially as shown anddescribed.

3. A sling comprising a crotch of metal or other suitable substance,having its arms provided with slits, the inner face of the slittedportion being apexiform, and rubber bands confined in the slitted ends,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEYVIS B. MYERS.

Witnesses:

CHAS. L. SEWARD, Lnwrs B. MYERs.

